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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. pit — a hole
  3. land — a country
  4. content — the amount
  5. clip — for paper
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. cue — for pool
  9. land — ground
  10. hand — in cards
  11. clip — a video
  12. cue — a hint
  13. pit — in a race
  14. cue — a signal
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. spring — the season
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. content — happy
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. clip — to cut
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — of water
  24. hand — help

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com